I Like To Look For Rainbows...

What a beautiful day! Our little Kate was baptized today. It was an event full of miracles and we are so proud of her.

Some of you may not know that Kate has been extremely hesitant to get baptized. We have been talking to her about it and praying about it for many months now, and each time we have brought it up she has cried or outright refused. After prayer we decided the best action was no action. We felt that when and if she was ready she would let us know.

Several weeks ago she was playing at William Brown's house. William is Kate's special friend--she helps him with the things he needs and he, in turn, is there for her. They are a cute support system for each other. When William invited Kate to come to her baptism, she was suddenly inspired to be baptized herself! William's mom, who is an angel in my eyes, suggested to Kate that she get baptized after William. Kate said, "but I don't want people to watch me." Jackie calmly suggested that after William's turn everyone could leave and then Kate could have a turn. Kate, for the first time, showed enthusiasm. We held our breath and hoped and prayed that she would be comforted and could go through with it.

So the Brown's encouraged us to tag along. We didn't invite family, because we were trying to keep it simple for Kate and relieve some of the pressure. We were, however, lucky to have Gramma Gail there to give a talk about the Holy Ghost (she gave the kids beautiful "comforters" she had made) and Grandpa Worthy was a witness and stood in the circle for the confirmation. We felt blessed to have them there with us for such a special occasion.

Kate was so brave! I started crying immediately and have been flowing like a fountain all day. She was beautiful and brave and I'm so proud of her. She watched William, and then when the crowd left she calmly entered into the font and was baptized by her Daddy. What a moment.

I thought for sure she would want to be confirmed without a crowd, too, but when William's turn was over she calmly got up and walked to the chair. Her confirmation was beautiful. She and I both love and appreciate her Daddy.

Today I feel so blessed to have a family and extended family that loves and supports us and is willing to accommodate for our Kate. And what a support we have found in friends. Thanks, Brown family, for including us in your special day. I know it was meant to be.

A Few Reasons Why I Love My Wife and Kids

I posted this on the Glover Family Blog but thought I would post it here for those of you that don't venture into the craziness of my family's blog.

This is not a comprehensive list of the reasons my family merits my adoration and love but it is better than not voicing these ideas at all.

Kim
She believes in me. I recently applied for a pretty significant position in my organization. In my first interview, with a member of the Executive Leadership Team, I was informed that he would be trimming the selection down to his top 4 candidates and perform a second interview with those that made his final cut. I told my wife this and said I wasn’t worried about a second interview. Surely out of all that applied I would not make a final four. She said, “Don’t think that way! You will be a final four candidate!” Guess what, I got a second interview. I am uncertain whether I really want the job or not but that is beside the point. The point is, my wife believes in me and gives me confidence to be excellent every day. I love her!

Morgan
She has a zest for life. Morgan laughs like me. She enjoys laughing and is a joy to be around. She played her first volleyball game of the season yesterday. She rocked and her team won. But, here is what distinguished Morgan for me and is one reason I love her so much. Morgan awoke at 4:00am that morning to get ready because she was so excited about her Volleyball match. She couldn’t sleep and couldn’t wait to go to school and start her match. She loves life and she is living life to the fullest. I am proud of her and I love her!

Kate
She is so inquisitive. Kate wants to understand how her world ticks and runs. She is always asking me the deepest questions. She also loves to find new treasures and show them to me, whether it is a worm, a piece of metal or a vegetable from the garden. She trusts my answers and seems flabbergasted when I don’t seem to have the answer. I love being her source of knowledge and love her more than I can describe!

Worthy
He is fascinated with Star Wars and Harry Potter. Worthy has begun to collect Star Wars and Harry Potter figurines. He asks to watch Star Wars every day. He knows the story and enjoys watching it with me. He has catalogued the Star Wars figures that he desires (he really wants Darth Vader, don’t tell him its coming for his birthday). He plays our Star Wars X-box game every time he plays the X-Box. Star Wars, my boy loves the show and toys as much as I do and did. I love sharing this interest with him and in his own words “I love” him “all the way to Georgia, the Moon and back!”

I have a great family. I love them and love the many things that make them unique. Thanks for letting me share.

Back to School

School is in!

Worthy started kindergarten, and we are so proud of him. He was nervous and anxious. I cried all day (he didn't know it, of course) because I left him there with a quiver in his chin and those deer-in-the-headlights eyes. I had to remind myself that when I was a kindergarten teacher, kids did a lot better AFTER their moms left. So I left, and I cried. And when I picked him up after school he was beaming! He loves his teacher and he is having a very positive experience. Wow, my baby is growing up.

Kate is doing really well, too. She is such a good big sister to her little bro. She makes sure he remembers his backpack, and she helps him walk home from school every day. She has a wonderful teacher who has done a lot of simple things to help accomodate her and make her feel good about herself. Kate amazes me all the time, but I'm especially proud of her right now. She seems to have matured three years over the summer.

Morgan is in the 8th grade, and is still enjoying middle school. She woke up at 4:00 on the first 3 days of school to do her hair. Oh, my. We found out yesterday that she made the school volleyball team, so she is excited to start a new season. We'll let you know when we have a game schedule. Morgan is now officially taller than me. She and I were looking at her baby scrapbook yesterday, and I had this moment where I just wanted to grab time and hold it still for awhile.

I'm still alive!

I must apologize for dropping off the face of the planet. We've had a fun filled, crazy summer and I have dropped the ball big time. Unfortunately, I'm back to work now. Fortunately, that means I have time once a day to catch up on y'all. I've really missed the blogging. It makes me feel like I'm close to everyone even though you're far away.

I don't have time to post much now, but I promise to post more this week. I just thought I'd include some photos of our summer adventures, including Harry Potter mania, swimming, and lots and lots of camping.

We love you all!

Worthy's Proud Golf Moment

Two weekends ago I entered the Hideout Amateur golf tournament. It has been a goal of mine to win the Amateur. I haven’t felt like I was there yet, but a great thing happened. I took second place in my flight! Not a victory but close enough that I feel really good about the future.

I was a little worried about playing in the tournament because I hadn’t played a whole lot of golf prior to that week. In fact, I played a round on the Monday before and did so poorly I told Kim I was going to pull out. Luckily she talked me into sticking it out. She convinced me that I didn’t enter to win I entered to have fun.

I could give you the typical “Worthy Glover Play-by-Play” but I won’t. I will just tell you that I played steady. After the first day of the tournament I was in second place. I decided that if I kept the same pace as the day before I should end up in pretty good shape. In the end I took second by 1 stroke. It was a lot of fun.

For taking second place I won $350, which must be spent on merchandise at the clubhouse. This is great and exciting but a little frustrating also. I like every club in my bag. I really don’t feel like I need to replace any of them. Obviously they are treating me all right. I did purchase a new wedge (which has already been a good addition to my bag) but I don’t really have a need for any other clubs. I may end up buying some junior clubs for the kids and a lot of golf balls, shirts and hats.

The Beginning of our Summer Music Experience

Kim and I have a music filled summer ahead of us and I thought I would share some of our experiences with all of you. We started our summer of music by attending a concert in Shiprock, New Mexico on Monday, May 21 that featured the Indigo Girls. Oh my, holy Hannah! What an amazing experience! Those of you that know my wife know she loves the Indigo Girls but until you see them live it is hard to really explain why she has so much passion and commitment to them. They were absolutely amazing and mind blowing. If you ever get the chance to see them in concert, you have to take the chance. I still can’t get over how amazing it was.

A Hopi reggae band called Casper opened the show. This group had an amazing amount of energy and really surprised me. When I heard that a “Hopi reggae band” was opening for the Indigo Girls I was a little skeptical, but they certainly won me over by the time they were done playing their set. They were fun to listen to and had a great message in their lyrics. Probably one of the most enjoyable elements of their performance was to watch Amy and Emily of the Indigo girls jamming to Casper’s music while back stage. From our vantage point we could see just off stage right and those ladies appreciated the performance just as much as we did. It was a lot of fun.

Now, I am going to take a moment to get a little preachy on you. Many of you might be wondering why the Indigo Girls would conduct a concert in Shiprock, New Mexico. Initially we also wondered. It turned out they were doing it to support a grass roots cause associated with a valid environmental cause. The concert, was sponsored by a group called “Honor the Earth”, and was a benefit concert designed to lend support to grassroots Native groups working to stop the Desert Rock coal plant. The grass roots effort desires that the Navajo Nation and other native cultures explore a safe energy economy, one based on the renewable energy potential of Native lands.

I feel this is a valid concern, an appropriate idea, and a cause worth supporting. It is time we take the initiative and explore better ways to exist in this world without causing it harm. Some of you may not think this idea aligns with my core values as a Mormon, but I would suggest otherwise. I firmly believe the Lord expects me to take care of this earth and treat it with respect. He doesn’t expect me to squander my inheritance by mistreating what I have been given or leave messes for future generations to deal with and clean up. A favorite saying of mine is one as if the Lord spoke it himself: He says, “Okay, now you’ve got the multiply part down. How about you work on the replenish.” Many will recognize this from the command to “multiply and replenish the earth.” Well, I think it is time we obey that command and do what we can to conserve and renew the earth. Just take a moment to think about it and do small things to make a difference that is all I am saying.

Okay, I am done preaching. Now back to the music. The Indigo Girls took the stage by singing “Pendulum Swinger” a new song of their latest album. It is a great song, and so much more amazing when you see it performed live. Those two ladies have so much passion and emotion wrapped into their music. It was incredible to watch them. They are so gifted and so talented. They really blew my mind! They switched guitars after every song and even switched in the middle of a song and didn’t miss a beat. They finished by playing the most amazing rendition of “Chicken Man” I have ever seen or heard. It was time well spent and great to be there with my wife and her sister. Thanks for dragging me there Kim it was a wonderful experience!

As I noted in the opening paragraph we have a summer of music ahead of us. I will try to post about each experience as we have them, so look for more. Just to give you an idea of what lies ahead for us. We are going to Indiefest in Pagosa Springs on June 9 & 10, and then we will watch the Indigo Girls again in Salt Lake City at Red Butte Gardens on June 19. Finally, we will likely wrap up our summer by attending the Folks Festival at Lyons, Colorado on August 19 in order to see Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus of Dreams. We haven’t committed to that one yet but right now we are talking about going. It should be a great music filled summer. I will let you know how it goes.

Happy Mother's Day!

A few years ago I wrote this little list for Kim on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to do something to honor her for Mother’s Day so I decided to share this with everyone, (after a little minor editing). I hope she doesn’t mind.

Remember When:

• A skinny eleven-year-old boy brought you a mouse.
  
• A neighbor girl who was twice his size forced a geeky 12-year-old kid into dating servitude.
  
• A dorky 13 year old fearfully broke the “chains of love” by dumping his neighbor girlfriend and began professing allegiance to you.
  
• A scrawny 14 year old began to stalk you.
  
• A dinky 15 year old suddenly grew taller than you.
  
• A bedazzled 16-year-old boy kissed you for the first time on the night of junior prom.
  
• A whipped young 16 year old blew an engine in his car while driving you to see your boyfriend in Monticello.
  
• A depressed 17 year old continued to stalk you.
  
• Somewhere in there you and your stalker became best friends.
  
• A nervous, soon to be 19-year-old boy looked you in the eyes across the dinner table and could have proposed marriage.
  
• A young missionary wrote you more often than he wrote his own mother.
  
• A young returned missionary asked you a set of questions during a late night cuddle session, which prompted him to get on his knees and ask you to marry him.
  
• You said, “YES!”
  
• A newly engaged couple financed a wedding ring with no money, no job and not even a roof over their heads.
  
• You knelt at the altar in the Temple of The Lord and stared into eternity with your stalker, to be sealed together forever.
  
• You forced the entire Hurst Family Convoy to pull over and stop on it’s way to Juarez, Mexico, while you emptied the contents of your stomach on the side of the road.
  
• Our first child tried to enter this world early then refused to come on time once the proper moment arrived.
  
• Our eldest daughter stopped breathing during her first hours at home.
  
• We lost track of one another because paying bills seemed to be more important than being together as a family.
  
• We made the crazy decision to move home within the year and we uprooted our lives within two weeks time. (The right opportunity came along.)
  
• Two young parents decided it was time to expand their family only to discover that having another child was not like buying a loaf of bread at the grocery store.
  
• Your husband had to learn how to poke you with a needle in a vain attempt to jumpstart your reproductive system.
  
• We shared a horrific and very tragic ultrasound with our young daughter.
  
• A young couple was told their reproductive luck had run out.
  
• A zealous young mother networked with everyone and their dogs in a frantic effort to add to her family.
  
• Two kids left their child at home while they hopped on a plane to San Diego to meet a potential birth mother.
  
• Weeks later they loaded their luggage and child into the car and waited hours at the train station to travel east by train in order to pick up the next member of their family.
  
• The highway patrol tracked that family down and asked them to call their adoption agency in order to receive some tragic news.
  
• Your fragile husband nearly fell apart and came very close to an internal death.
  
• Shortly thereafter we received the right phone call telling us it was time to come to Philadelphia to pick up our daughter.
  
• That young and tested couple met their second child in the lobby of a Philadelphia motel.
  
• Those youngsters didn’t wait around to let anyone change their circumstances and hopped on a plane to get home as quickly as possible with their little baby.
  
• We took our two daughters to the newly built Temple of the Lord in our home area and knelt once again at the altar and were reminded of the eternal nature of life.
  
• We realized we weren’t done, that there was another child who was to bear Dad’s name.
  
• We revealed our souls one more time on paper and when our paperwork was “almost done.”
  
• A national tragedy occurred and days later a Glover celebration happened.
  
• Two crazy San Juan County residents drove across the nation in two days to pick up their son, because there were no planes in the skies.
  
• We first met our little “cow,” and his precious birth mother.
  
• Our son was ripped from our arms and returned to live in tragic circumstances.
  
• We stopped living for 3 months.
  
• A depressed, lost, and forlorn couple was approached by their social worker and asked if they would accept a new scenario for the acceptance of a child in their home. That surprising scenario involved the return of their son.
  
• We returned once again to the altar of eternity and finished our family.
  
• A not so young husband paused what he was doing and saying to look his wife in the eyes and tell her how beautiful she was.
  
• The last time was that I told you, “I love you!” Well I meant it. I love you!
  

Happy Mother’s Day! I love you Kim and I want the world to know it! Thanks for being the mother of my children, my best friend and wife.